🕯️ Virellius, the Immortal Flame

"The curtain will never fall while I yet draw breath… and I no longer need breath."

Once a beloved and tyrannical actor-emperor of a forgotten Netherese empire, Virellius ruled not through military might but through spectacle, lies, and enchantment. Obsessed with his own legacy, he sought immortality not of the flesh, but of reputation. In death, his soul refused to fade—so captivating was his final soliloquy that even Vecna paused to listen. And in that pause, Virellius claimed undeath through sheer ego and showmanship.

Now reborn as an undead avatar of secrecy and illusion, Virellius appears as a skeletal figure wrapped in a Toga of Woven Secrets, embroidered with ever-shifting text and forgotten incantations. His eyes blaze with purple fire, his voice is silk soaked in venom, and he always stands as though on a stage. When he casts spells, whispered laughter and ghostly applause echo unnervingly.

His lair is a nightmare of theatrical symbolism—flickering chandeliers over pits of shadow, cursed props, and stages built from bone and ash. He sees combat as performance, adversaries as reluctant co-stars, and his victory as inevitable.

Though his vanity is theatrical, his cruelty is real. He toys with memories, fractures identity, and manipulates fate with the flair of a playwright. Virellius considers death not a punishment but a closing night—and he never intends for the show to end.

🎭 Lair: The Stage of Souls

Location Description:
The lair of Virellius is a warped, ever-shifting grand theatre carved from the memories of the dead and haunted by forgotten performances. Velvet curtains bleed shadow, phantom chandeliers sway without wind, and the air crackles with whispered applause. The stage glows with runes of memory and deception, changing form between each "scene."

The arena's architecture is unnatural: floating balconies, crumbling opera boxes, and trapdoors that open to voids of silence. Everything within this domain seems to respond to his will—costume, color, lighting, and music.

🕯️ Lair Traits (while within the Stage of Souls)

1. Phantom Stagehands: Illusory figures can interact with physical objects. Once per round, Virellius may manipulate environmental elements (open trapdoors, trigger glyphs, change lighting) as a free action.

2. Thespian’s Will: Enemies within the lair have disadvantage on saving throws against illusion and enchantment spells cast by Virellius.

3. Curtain of Silence: Magic that detects thoughts, alignment, or truth automatically fails. The lair resists being "understood"—divination spells fizzle unless cast with a DC 20 Arcana check.

4. Orator: While out of combat and In acting as master of ceremonies, Virellius always acts first

    

🩸 Lair Actions (Initiative count 20, losing ties)

At the start of initiative count 20 on each round, Virellius can use one of the following lair actions. He cannot use the same action two rounds in a row.

🎬 1. Rehearsal of Pain

Virellius dredges up a traumatic memory from each PC’s past. Each creature must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or be stunned until the end of its next turn, overwhelmed by echoes of failure, grief, or guilt.

“You remember the moment you let them die… but this time, it’s your fault.”

🎭 2. The Doppelgänger’s Debut

An illusory copy of one random PC materializes on the battlefield (uses the PC’s current stats and equipment but acts with malicious intent). This illusion lasts 1 minute or until reduced to 0 HP.

“Imitation is the cruelest form of flattery.”

🪞 3. Shadow Casting

Virellius targets one PC and replaces them with a version of themselves from a dark, mirror dimension. This Shadow Self has identical stats, but evil alignment and distorted spell effects (radiant becomes necrotic, etc.).

The real PC is banished to the mirror realm for 1 round, reappearing after their shadow form is slain or at the end of the next round (whichever comes first).

“You always were your worst enemy. Tonight, you prove it.”